Gauchos blast Dons in game two

The Saddleback baseball team won its second straight game over Santa Ana on Thursday with an 11-3 victory in Santa Ana.  The Gauchos are now tied for third place in the Orange Empire Conference standings. 

Saddleback scored in each of the first five innings, taking a 10-0 lead and never looking back.  Chase Lyford held the Dons scoreless into the seventh inning while Brett Auerbach led the offensive charge.

Auerbach (pictured) doubled in the opening inning and came around to score when Zack Bowman doubled him home along with Tyler Clark for a 2-0 lead.  He then tripled with two runners on base in the top of the second inning to give Saddleback a 4-0 lead.  Auerbach would 3-for-4 with two RBI on the afternoon.

The Gauchos scored two more times in the third inning when Brett O'Toole doubled to left field to score Bowman and later came across the plate on a passed ball.  They exploded for three more runs in the fourth inning, capped off by a two-run homer from Erik Voller for a 9-0 lead.  Saddleback would score another run in the fifth inning when Adam Gordon score on yet another passed ball for a double-digit lead.

Lyford (5-3) scattered around eight hits over 6.1 innings, but never allowed a walk while striking out four.  His only earned run allowed came across the plate in the bottom of the seventh before turning things over to the bullpen.  Hunter Johnson and Alexander Kent finished off the Dons by surrendering no hits over the final 2.2 innings. 

Saddleback is now 19-11 overall and 7-7 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Gauchos are now in a tie with Cypress and Golden West for third place, four games behind co-leaders Riverside and Orange Coast.

Saddleback and Santa Ana will finish the three-game set on Friday at Doug Fritz Field.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.